Founders and Advisory Board

The Zachary Brooks CHD Endowment

American Heart Association's 'Legacy of Life' Congenital Heart Defect Endowment

(Note: Both of these Endowments are associated with the American Heart Association. They are 2 separate endowments, doing the same thing, just "owned" by different people. Angie Brooks is in charge of of Zachary's, and the AHA is in charge of the Legacy of Life.)

The The Zachary Brooks CHD Endowment
by Angie Brooks

On November 30, 1999 I lost my 6 month old baby boy during surgery to repair one of his two congenital heart defects. Zachary was our third child. With our first 2 children Alexis and Nicholas, I had to work outside the home. During my 6th month of pregnancy with Zachary I was finally able to quit my job and be a stay at home mom.

Zachary was and always will be the perfect baby in my eyes, he was just born with an imperfect heart. He had a smile that would melt the heart of all that met him. There was just something about Zachary, something special; his eyes seemed to hold wisdom beyond his years. Zachary loved life; it was almost as if he knew his was going to be short and he wanted to make the best of every second he had.

For the first couple months after God welcomed Zachary to his forever home in heaven, I was in a daze. In late January I started looking up everything I could on the Internet about congenital heart defects (CHDs). Before Zachary, I had never heard the term "congenital heart defect" before. I was shocked to learn that it is the #1 birth defect and the #1 cause of birth-related infant deaths.

I found out that February14th had been proclaimed CHD Awareness Day here in Michigan. I made up posters and hung them anywhere and everywhere I could to raise awareness of CHDs. I also participated in a radio interview with Kerrie Van Eck and Anna Jaworski to raise awareness of CHDs. I knew there was nothing I could do for my little Zachary, but through awareness and funding for CHD research, there was something I could do for the 40,000 other babies born each year with a congenital heart defect.

In February of 2000, my daughter Alexis jumped in a Jump For Heart at her school. She was just seven years old and raised $1,000 for the AHA through Jump For Heart -- all in memory of her baby brother Zachary. Alexis went door to door collecting pledges telling people that she was collecting money so that other babies don't have to die like her baby brother did.

After finding out how little of that money raised went into CHD research, I had to do something, I needed to have somewhere people could send in donations and know, without a doubt, that their contributions were going to CHD Research. Something needed to be done, but I had no idea how to make that happen.

In March 2000, I began contacting people at the American Heart Association. I talked to many people in those first five months. I sent e-mails, talked on the phone, had people calling me, but no one knew how to make a place for just CHD donations. Finally, after months and months of getting nowhere, I was put in contact with Laurie Loughridge at the Midwest Affiliate of the American Heart Association. In August 2000, we established the first Congenital Heart Defect Endowment, The Zachary Brooks CHD Endowment. This was "ground breaking;" nothing like this had ever been done before.

There is nothing I can do to save my baby now, I hope and pray everyday that I am going to wake up and this is all going to be a dream. I wish on every star in the sky that I am going to wake up and have my sweet little Zachary back in my arms, but the reality is, Zachary is not coming back. There is nothing I can do to bring him back, but there is something I can do to save all those other heart babies. I am doing all I can to ensure that when my other children grow up to have children of their own, CHD will be a thing of the past.

It is my goal, through this endowment, to raise funding and awareness of congenital heart defects so that someday we will know of a cure, a prevention and a cause. It is my goal to give hope to the 1.2 million Americans and their families that are affected by CHDs today. It is my prayer that no more innocent babies have to die because they are born with an imperfect heart . It is my prayer that no other parent will ever have to know the pain of losing a child to congenital heart defect again.

To make a donation to the Zachary Brooks CHD endowment for research in congenital heart defects, to help save the heart of a child, send a check made out to the American Heart Association (memo ~ Zachary) to:

For more information, contact:
Laura T. Loughridge
Senior Director of Individual and Special Gifts
American Heart Association
208 South LaSalle, Suite #900
Chicago, IL 60604
312.346-4675
312.346.7375 fax
lloughridge@heart.org

One hundred percent (100%) of all contributions made go to research of congenital heart defects. All of us working to raise funds through the Zachary Brooks CHD Endowment are volunteers working together to save the heart of a child. This means that no overhead costs or administration costs will ever be taken out. You, too, can honor loved ones with a tribute or memorial gift. To learn more about this endowment, you can visit http://www.angelzachary.homestead.com .

The American Heart Association's Legacy of Life Endowment
by Melissa Brown

At 20 weeks a routine ultrasound detected that my little girl Madelynn had 10 heart defects. My husband Dave and I went through the interview process of pediatric cardiac surgeons and numerous prenatal visits to predict her future. Through natural childbirth, Madelynn was born on March 31, 2000. She was rushed to the NICU immediately and I was told I might not be able to hold her since she may need open heart surgery immediately. Madelynn had a very rare birth defect that involved all of her internal organs; the most severely affected was her heart. Surprising everyone, Madelynn came home after 23 days and then went on vacation with our family to Myrtle Beach by car two weeks later. We were determined to give her as normal a life as possible.

At 3 months months of age, Madelynn developed intestinal problems and an infection, requiring a central line. At Riley Children's Hospital, she had to undergo more surgeries -- cardiac catheterizations, G-tubes, and more thoracic procedures. The list went endlessly on, as did the ever-growing need for medicines and feeding supplements. Madelynn underwent anesthesia more than 20 times in her short life. Through the countless days in the hospital (100 total), we constantly prayed and rallied around our baby girl.

Through it all Madelynn's responses were always joy and laughter! She possessed a sunny disposition and a smile that could light up any room. She astonished the cardiologists and her thoracic surgeon with her progress. She grew by leaps and bounds and was so smart we even had to let her homebound, developmental therapist go! Because feeding was an issue throughout her life, we will never forget the day she ate a noodle, at Champs restaurant! Her heart didn’t allow her to eat by mouth, it just required too much energy. Cutting her first tooth, pulling up to standing, walking along the furniture, learning words by leaps and bounds . . . we delighted in her progress.

My 16 1/2 month old, beautiful Madelynn was admitted to Riley Children's Hospital on July 30, 2001 for her second open heart surgery and never came home to her loving three year old brother Austin and parents. After multiple codes and emergency surgery, she had lost all activity in her cortex from lack of oxygen. She passed into heaven on August 17, 2001 after being taken off the ventilator.

In sixteen short months our baby girl touched the hearts of so many people. We thank God for Madelynn's presence in our lives. It was very important to me to never see this happen to any other parent. For the first time I felt the pain of other mothers who had lost their children. I knew something had to be done.

I called the American Heart Association and wanted to have all of the money raised at Madelynn's funeral to be in her name; I was very interested in getting a total dollar amount. For some strange reason this comforted me during my overwhelming grief. I found out that there was a Zachery Brooks CHD Research Endowment set up through the AHA. I was told we had to have a minimum of $10,000 to set one up in my Madelynn's name.

I knew most families would not be able to raise that kind of money so I thought of creating an endowment fund for all children with a mission to spread the word nationwide. This fund would be for the whole congenital heart defect (CHD) community.

The Legacy of Life Endowment has been created for Congenital Heart Defect Research. One hundred percent (100%) of all funds will be placed in the endowment. Funds can be raised separately or through any of the American Heart Association's heart walks. Anyone can request that the money they raise for an AHA Heart Walk be sent to the Legacy of Life. All checks made to the American Heart Association should have LOL (Legacy of Life) in the memo area. To learn more about this endowment, you can visit: www.americanheart.org and enter 60604 in the zip code area in the upper right corner.

Help us fight America's #1 killer of children. Even though twice as many children die of heart defects than cancer, there is five times the research on pediatric cancer. We are getting closer to our goal of a million dollars everyday. As of today we have raised $500,000, we are 1/2 way to our Million Dollar goal before it is invested. The Million Dollars will always be in the principle. The interest will be spent on CHD research.

If you want to donate please mail your check to:
American Heart Association
Attn: Laura Loughridge
Check Memo: LOL
208 S. Lasalle
Suite 900
Chicago, IL 60604

I am grateful for the research conducted by the AHA in the past. Thanks to the development of medical technology, Madelynn was with us for 16 months. I am also grateful to my family and friends for their love and support.

My very good friend has designed a blank inside"Heart Card" and 50% of the proceeds will be donated to the Legacy of Life. For more information, click Here.